the moment.
The rhythm of the evening, so perfectly established, began to fracture with the server’s return. She approached the table with a slight hesitancy, her practiced smile faltering at the edges.
“Sir,” she murmured, leaning in slightly so her voice would not carry to the adjacent tables. “I’m so sorry, but… your card didn’t go through.”
The statement landed like a sudden drop in temperature. My immediate, internal response was disbelief, swiftly followed by a sickening wave of heat that rushed up my neck and settled in my cheeks. “There must be some kind of mistake,” I managed, my
Comments